The effects of physical activity on arterial stiffness during pregnancy: an observational study.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and arterial stiffness in pregnancy. Thirty-nine women participated in this study, resulting in 68 measurements in non-pregnant (NP; = 21), first (TM1;  = 8), second (TM2; = 20), and third trimesters (TM3; = 19). Compliance, distensibility, elasticity, β-stiffness, and carotid to femoral (central) and carotid to finger (peripheral) pulse wave velocity (PWV) were assessed.

Longitudinal study of cerebral blood flow regulation during exercise in pregnancy.

Cerebrovascular adaptation to pregnancy is poorly understood. We sought to assess cerebrovascular regulation in response to visual stimulation, hypercapnia and exercise across the three trimesters of pregnancy. Using transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound, middle and posterior cerebral artery mean blood velocities (MCAv and PCAv) were measured continuously at rest and in response to (1) visual stimulation to assess neurovascular coupling (NVC); (2) a modified Duffin hyperoxic CO rebreathe test, and (3) an incremental cycling exercise test to volitional fatigue in non-pregnant ( = 26; NP) and pregnant women (first trimester [ = 13; TM1], second trimester [ = 21; TM2], and third trimester [ = 20; TM3]) in total 47 women.

Sun protection and shade availability in New Zealand's outdoor recreation spaces.

Aims: We aimed to investigate sun protection behaviours and shade availability in outdoor recreation spaces using images captured by children who, in 2014/15, wore wearable cameras for four consecutive days.

Methods: The 168 participants visited 16 outdoor recreation spaces between 10am and 4pm, capturing 378 images, on average, in each setting. People observed in the images (n=2,635) were coded for age, sex, clothing worn (38 clothing types) and shade used.

Studying third-parties and environments: New Zealand sun-safety research.

Wearable cameras have been used to study health behaviours, but their utility in assessing third-party behaviours and the built environment is uncertain. This paper reports on the feasibility of using wearable cameras for this purpose in a study of sun-protective behaviours and shade availability during school lunch-breaks. The Kids'Cam study provided 168 children (aged 11-13 years), recruited from 16 randomly selected schools in the Wellington region of New Zealand, with wearable cameras.

Sun Protection Among New Zealand Primary School Children.

Schools are an important setting for raising skin cancer prevention awareness and encouraging sun protection. We assessed the clothes worn and shade used by 1,278 children in eight schools in the Wellington region of New Zealand. These children were photographed for the Kids'Cam project between September 2014 and March 2015 during school lunch breaks.

Wellington Playgrounds Uncovered: An Examination of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation and Shade Protection in New Zealand.

Providing effective shade in summer recreation spaces can reduce children's risk of skin cancer. This study explored the quantity and protective quality of shade in Wellington, New Zealand playgrounds. Two researchers visited 50 randomly selected playgrounds during peak ultraviolet radiation (UVR) hours in summer and recorded the mean shade cover of playground equipment, seats, tables and open areas.

Central respiratory chemosensitivity and cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity: a rebreathing demonstration illustrating integrative human physiology.

One of the most effective ways of engaging students of physiology and medicine is through laboratory demonstrations and case studies that combine 1) the use of equipment, 2) problem solving, 3) visual representations, and 4) manipulation and interpretation of data. Depending on the measurements made and the type of test, laboratory demonstrations have the added benefit of being able to show multiple organ system integration. Many research techniques can also serve as effective demonstrations of integrative human physiology.

Steady-state tilt has no effect on cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity in anterior and posterior cerebral circulations.

What is the central question of this study? We investigated the effects of superimposed tilt and hypercapnia-induced cerebral arteriolar dilatation on anterior and posterior cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity using hyperoxic rebreathing in human participants. What is the main finding and its importance? The main findings are threefold: (i) cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity in the anterior and posterior cerebrovasculature is unchanged with tilt; (ii) cerebral autoregulation is unlikely responsible due to unchanging cerebrovascular resistance reactivity between positions; and (iii) cerebral blood flow is not pressure passive during tilt as it is with pharmacological or lower body negative pressure-induced changes in mean arterial pressure, suggesting that sympathetic activation or balanced transmural pressures during head-down tilt regulate cerebral blood flow. Cerebral autoregulation is a protective feature of the cerebrovasculature that maintains relatively constant cerebral perfusion in the face of static and dynamic fluctuations in mean arterial pressure (MAP).

The effects of head-up and head-down tilt on central respiratory chemoreflex loop gain tested by hyperoxic rebreathing.

Central respiratory chemosensitivity is mediated via chemoreceptor neurons located throughout brain stem tissue. These receptors detect proximal CO2/[H(+)] (i.e.

Differential cerebrovascular CO₂ reactivity in anterior and posterior cerebral circulations.

The potential differences in cerebrovascular responses between the anterior and posterior circulations to changes in CO₂ are unclear in humans. Using transcranial Doppler ultrasound, we compared the CO₂ reactivity of the (1) BA and PCA and (2) MCA and PCA during hyperoxic rebreathing in supine position. The reactivity in the BA and PCA was similar in both absolute (1.

Identification of stress and coping risk and protective factors associated with changes in adjustment to caring for an adult with mental illness.

There is a paucity of theory guided longitudinal research into how carers of an adult with mental illness adapt to caregiving. This study examined changes in carer adjustment over 12 months and identified risk and protective factors using stress/coping theory. Eighty-seven carers completed questionnaires at Time 1 and 12 months later (Time 2).

A stress and coping model of adjustment to caring for an adult with mental illness.

This study investigated the utility of a stress and coping framework for identifying factors associated with adjustment to informal caregiving to adults with mental illness. Relations between stress and coping predictors and negative (distress) and positive (positive affect, life satisfaction, benefit finding, health) carer adjustment outcomes were examined. A total of 114 caregivers completed questionnaires.

Measurements of the solar UVR protection provided by shade structures in New Zealand primary schools.

To reduce ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure during childhood, shade structures are being erected in primary schools to provide areas where children can more safely undertake outdoor activities. This study to evaluate the effectiveness of existing and purpose built shade structures in providing solar UVR protection was carried out on 29 such structures in 10 schools in New Zealand. Measurements of the direct and scattered solar UVR doses within the central region of the shade structures were made during the school lunch break period using UVR-sensitive polysulfone film badges.